An all-star cast reimagines Whoopi Goldberg’s groundbreaking one-woman performance, celebrating its enduring influence on Broadway and a new generation of Black women in theater.
In 1984, Whoopi Goldberg stood on a bare Broadway stage and changed American theater. Her self-titled one-woman show introduced characters like Fontaine, both high-minded and always high philosopher. Goldberg wrote the piece because Broadway refused to cast her. She needed the world to see her.
It worked. Steven Spielberg saw the show and cast her as Celie in The Color Purple. When the performance was broadcast as an HBO special the following year, Whoopi Goldberg: Direct From Broadway, Goldberg became a national phenomenon.
Now, Emmy Award-winning actor and producer Kerry Washington has adapted the work into an ensemble piece titled The Whoopi Monologues! At Lincoln Center.
Goldberg’s original performance was a solo show, but Washington divided the roles among five actors. Joining Washington are Tony-winners Kecia Lewis and Kara Young, along with Dominique Fishback and Danielle Pinnock.
Washington, who watched the original HBO special as a child and memorized the recording from a cassette tape, is producing this fresh interpretation alongside Tony-nominated director Whitney White. She views the multiple casting as a necessity to match the legend of Whoopi’s original production. “I feel like it takes five of us to do what Whoopi Goldberg did because she’s a phenom,” Washington noted during an appearance on Good Morning America.
Young, the first Black performer to win consecutive Tony Awards, opens the production as Fontaine.
“I’m very happy to be honoring the people who literally go unseen and unheard, and ignored, quite often,” she said.
This company of Black women joins forces to elevate Whoopi’s legend. The resulting production follows the path of Ntozake Shange’s landmark 1976 choreopoem for colored girls… And the 2016 Broadway run of Danai Gurira’s Eclipsed. All three productions center the lives of Black women.
Washington said the comedy and heartbreak of the material remain uncompromised. These resurfaced monologues arrive as urgent art at a time when Black women are the most degreed yet one of the most unemployed groups.
“We put these women front and center on the stage and we say, ‘Hear us, love us. Open your heart,'” she said.
The production will soon see its first major cast change. Emmy nominee Jurnee Smollett is set to join the ensemble on August 4, succeeding Washington, who will play her final performance on August 2.
Ultimately, the cast is reaping the harvest of the seed Goldberg
Planted in 1984.
“She really built the framework, the roadmap, for so many of us in this business,” Washington said. “That show changed my Understanding of what was possible.”
The Whoopi Monologues! Runs at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater at Lincoln Center through August 30, 2026. Running time: 1 hour 40 minutes, without intermission
The Cast
- Kerry Washington
- Kara Young
- Kecia Lewis
- Dominique Fishback
- Danielle Pinnock
FAQs
What is The Whoopi Monologues?
The Whoopi Monologues is a new ensemble adaptation of Whoopi Goldberg’s groundbreaking 1984 one-woman Broadway show, produced by Kerry Washington at Lincoln Center.
Who stars in The Whoopi Monologues?
The cast includes Kerry Washington, Kara Young, Kecia Lewis, Dominique Fishback and Danielle Pinnock.
When does Kerry Washington leave the production?
Washington’s final performance is August 2, 2026.
Where is The Whoopi Monologues playing?
The production runs at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater at Lincoln Center through August 30, 2026.
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